Gift for Life Adds 5 to Board of Directors
Gift for Life, the gift, stationery and home decor industries’ sole national charitable organization, announced additions to its board of directors: Andrea Padilla of Transpac, Angela Jacobson of Stephen Joseph, Inc., Crystal Vilkaitis of Crystal Media, Landon Metts of Creative Brands and Maureen Carpenter of nora fleming.
Gift for Life also acknowledged the resignation of long-time member and former Gift for Life Board Chair Frank Joens, formerly with the L.A. Mart.
Before becoming Director of Sales & Marketing at Transpac, one of the industry’s largest seasonal gift and décor companies, Padilla worked her way up from an entry level marketing position to National Sales Manager. She has been a member of the gift and home industry since 2010, and was named as one of Gift Shop Magazine’s 40 Under 40 honorees in 2021.
Jacobson is a gift and home industry newcomer with just three and a half years working with the team at Stephen Joseph Companies after spending more than a decade in the video game industry. In 2019 she joined the SJC team to run Marketing and later added the role of Sales over both gift divisions, Karma and Stephen Joseph, allowing her the opportunity to be part of a woman-led team experiencing remarkable growth and transformation.
Vilkaitis is the founder of Crystal Media and a top-rated speaker who has worked exclusively with independent retailers since 2010. She has developed a team of social media experts who have worked with thousands of store owners to significantly increase their foot traffic, sales and profits through training programs and a done-for-you agency. By helping retailers evolve through new social sales channels and easily adapt to the ever-changing digital marketing world, Crystal Media is on a mission to help Main Street thrive.
Metts has more than 10 years experience in the gift industry, and today serves as sales manager for Creative Brands’ gift division which includes Santa Barbara Design Studio, Slant Collections, Stephan Baby and Heartfelt. In this role, he works with territory reps nationwide and oversees customer service and key account relationships. In 2021, Landon was named as one of Gift Shop Magazine’s 40 Under 40 honorees.
Carpenter is Vice-President and Director of Sales at nora fleming responsible for managing relationships with sales representatives and 1,700 retail locations in 48 states. Maureen joined nora fleming in 2010 as their first employee and her career has grown in parallel with nora fleming’s success. Maureen is active in the gift industry and currently serves as President of the Gift Sales Managers Association (GSMA). She is an active volunteer and advocate for many causes in the Chicagoland area.
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